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Best flights to Best Backpacking Destinations for 2014

Backpacking gives you the freedom to go anywhere. The entire world is yours for exploring and adventure waits on every continent. That said, there are some places that are more backpacker friendly, (re: cheaper!), than others, and filled with backpacker-friendly activities. Check out this list for the places to be in 2014.

Beaches, late night parties, gorgeous people…who wouldn’t want to go to Brazil any time of year? Throw in the 2014 world cup and you have the party of the century. From June 12 to July 13, futbol fanatics from around the world will descend for the country’s second ever world cup. Expect late nights. Expect gorgeous sunsets beat only by spectacular sunrises. Expect beautiful beaches (perfect for sleeping on when you run out of cash). Expect lots of other backpackers. And most of all, expect to have your expectations exceeded.

You know that feeling when you’ve seen so many churches in Rome, or temples in Thailand, and they all start to blur together? Suddenly, something so amazing seems mundane and you wander through in a daze. Yeah, it’s time to go somewhere truly unexpected, like Djenne. On an island in Mali, you’ll be confronted by the largest Adobe mud mosque in the world. It’s really, really cool, trust us, and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Go at sunset for a beautiful backdrop to the sandy colors.

So you travel, you backpack, you adventure…you think you’ve seen it all. But you haven’t, and Tulum has the ability to blow your mind. Aside from awesome scuba diving with elaborate coral and cartoon like fish, there’s an optical illusion hiding in the Angelita cenote. Experience what looks like a river, under the ocean. Seriously. In this particular spot there’s a layer of hydrogen sulfate separating the salt water from the fresh water, creating a river on ocean effect. And, Tulum is just a really fun, really cheap city!

Go to Brazil for the heat and Russia for the cold. Both host the world’s biggest sporting events in 2014. As icy as it may be, Russians knows winter, and they do it well. Visit for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be a part of history, or at least a part of a really big, freezing crowd. Cheer and commiserate with fellow internationals, down all the vodka you can handle, and eat all the pickled everything you can take.

Love street art? You need to get to Lodz. The art scene may have hit Poland late, but it’s coming in strong in Lodz where the city is making a push to beautify through street art. Tall, dull buildings are being transformed into tall, beautiful women. Bright, wild animals line the streets. Best of all, it’s all free. Just take a walk through the city and enjoy.

This is paradise, for backpackers and everyone else. Think slow, lazy days in a treehouse on a gorgeous beach. Add fresh-baked bread, locally caught fish, and smiling people. Oh and hammocks. Sold? If not, then you don’t deserve the pure joy Koh Ta Kiev, a tiny island in the gulf of Thailand, can bring a backpacker. What is there to do, you ask? Fishing, hiking, swimming, smiling, loving, and relaxing, relaxing, relaxing. What more do you need?

Mongolia is one of those few, remote places left on earth where backpackers can go and not have that ‘been there, done that’ feeling. Get lost in the massive monasteries, gaze on the beautiful glacier lakes, and channel your inner Genghis Khan. Most incredible though is how the Gobi desert melds with freezing tundras, forming a snowy desert that both confuses and amazes.

Eastern Europe always promises a good time, but Lithuania promises a good amount of history as well. From the Russians to the Germans to the Polish, Lithuania has been invaded time and time again, and you can reminisce at the KGB Genocide Museum, highlighting World War II prison killings. Gruesome, but interesting. To liven up again, head to Islandijos or Vokieciu streets, the party districts, with everything from dive bars to booming clubs, and of course lots of kebab shops. Don’t miss the Frank Zappa statue in the middle of the city, (weird but cool), and recover from a night out with as much tap water as you can guzzle – it’s some of the cleanest in Europe. Best of all, it’s cheap, cheap, cheap. You may just put your wanderlust, backpacking mind to rest and settle in for awhile.